[bishblaize]

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Great news. Get a sub appearance against West Brom then hopefully be fit enough to start vs Chelsea, or if not them, the away game vs City.

Awesome news. And fingers crossed just in time for our difficult run against our major rivals. I'd feel a lot better at least having the option of playing Carrick and Blind as a pair in a 4-2-3-1 type formation, even if we didn't start out that way.

 

[kouroux]

He won't be fit enough for Chelsea but great news nonetheless

 

[Sied]

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Decent Ogden article. I'm really looking forward to see how LVG uses Carrick. Instead of Blind or alongside?

 

[LR7]

For the bigger game I think both Carrick and Blind will be important. His ability to control our passing game is key, as is his composure.

 

[Isotope]

Carrick strives when partnered with another skillful CM, whether with no so young Scholes and Giggs, or Cleverley. I can envisage him, diMaria, and Blind/Herrera will form an excellent combo. Carrick makes other perform better; a trait that only few players have.

 

[ivaldo]

Carrick strives when partnered with another skillful CM, whether with no so young Scholes and Giggs, or Cleverley. I can envisage him, diMaria, and Blind/Herrera will form an excellent combo. Carrick makes other perform better; a trait that only few players have.

What a watery non specific point, how exactly?

 

[Isotope]

What a watery non specific point, how exactly?

That's exactly the mystery. How on earth we could reach CL final with him and 36 y.o. Giggs in CM?

 

[ivaldo]

That's exactly the mystery. How on earth we could reach CL final with him and 36 y.o. Giggs in CM?

Capable passing and a reserved approach to the game helps others shine I suppose, be nice to have another option available, especially in that DM role.

 

[Mykey]

He won't be fit enough for Chelsea but great news nonetheless

No?
With the international break and West Brom the Chelsea game is still 20 days away, thats plenty of training time

 

[RuudTom83]

30-60 minutes against West Brom and then he might be ready for Chelsea.

Playing with 3 up front seems suicidal against the league leaders, so i hope LVG begins thinking about how to beat Chelsea and City now, starting against West Brom i'd like to see Blind given more help!

The only player in the squad that could do this is Carrick imo, what you gain by playing Fletch or Valencia in that position is outweighed by losing a Rooney/Mata/RVP on the bench. But once Carrick is fit the choice becomes more even and its something i'd like LVG to try out asap.

 

[kouroux]

No?
With the international break and West Brom the Chelsea game is still 20 days away, thats plenty of training time

Training has nothing on a competitive match and specially one against such a tough and physical opponent.

 

[red_7]

really looking forward to see him with better players around him. Carried our midfield 2 years ago. Especially in big games we could well use him to play the 2nd no.6 iso a striker.

 

[Shimo]

Carrick is a tremendous player with one flaw that really has stopped him being able to considered as top class - that's his inability to handle a pressing game for a sustained period. It's not to say he can't but, he needs help when pressed - when he has people moving and providing options but, if that's not available then he folds. Nothing to be ashamed of as few but, the true greats are able to deal with it.

Getting to the point - I think with the current squad, with likes of Blind, Herrera, ADM - he'll have options, if pressed he will not be forced to fold and because of that everything else he brings in terms of reading the game, controlling the pace, his passing and experience will I think be truly welcome stabilizing presence. Definitely be interesting to see if LVG uses him and Blind together because for some reason I think Blind was bought primarily due to how long Carrick was going to be out and LVG had planned to use him in the role Blind plays now. If he plays both then we lose one of our more attacking players but, that might not be a bad thing to add more confidence in the back.

 

[Raulduke]

It will be interesting to see what Carrick's role will be when he returns. For me, initially, he will be such a useful option to bring on from 60+ minutes to help us close out games alongside Blind. A bit of extra composure in possession in the closing minutes of a game should prevent opposition teams building up the sort of momentum that has seen us clinging on (albeit quite admirably) recently. As others have mentioned Carrick alongside better midfield players is an interesting prospect too and with Blind in the team we may even see a more progressive Carrick going forward particularly with the movement and ability up front to target.

 

[moses]

What a watery non specific point, how exactly?

It's not watery at all if you see his worth. If you don't by now, any discussion is pointless.

 

[LonelyFire]

I still think there is a high chance you will see him play centre back.

 

[ivaldo]

It's not watery at all if you see his worth. If you don't by now, any discussion is pointless.

It is a little odd that you've decided to quote me from like ten days ago...

 

[Trizy]

For me, initially, he will be such a useful option to bring on from 60+ minutes to help us close out games alongside Blind.

This.. since our formation is so versatile we could easily change to a more defensive 4231 by dropping one striker for Carrick and subbing off key players later on in the game if we're well in the lead.

De Gea
Rafael-Jones-Rojo-Shaw
........Carrick(sub)-Blind
Januzaj(sub)-Mata(sub)-Di Maria
..........Falcao/Rvp

 

[Kag]

I still think there is a high chance you will see him play centre back.

I think that experiment would come to a bad end very quickly. He's a last resort there, no more. I actually think he'll be starting week in, week out on his return, possibly at the expense of Blind. Form dependant, of course.

 

[LonelyFire]

I think that experiment would come to a bad end very quickly. He's a last resort there, no more. I actually think he'll be starting week in, week out on his return, possibly at the expense of Blind. Form dependant, of course.

I cant see LVG dropping Blind - he's done very well in each game he's played. As for Carrick, i dont necessarily disagree about him not being suited to centre back, however, i dont think our manager will see it that way. I could be wrong.

 

[Raulduke]

I still think there is a high chance you will see him play centre back.

I thought the same when we were playing 3 at the back but now we've switched to a back 4 I'd say its unlikely.

 

[Walters_19_MuFc]

Blind gives us energy, but at the moment, he has nowhere the tactical and positional awareness Carrick has. Be nice to see Carrick get some minutes against West Brom.

 

[kundalini]

I still think there is a high chance you will see him play centre back.

Who knows what LVG will do ? If we were still using 3 central defenders then I would be more willing to believe that Carrick might feature in defence. Recently LVG's comments have suggested that his preference is for one right footed central defender and one left footed; in which case, Carrick would be competing with Jones, Smalling and Evans for one place. I'm struggling to see him winning that contest unless at least two of them are injured. Carrick's lack of pace is problematic if we intend to play a high line.

Personally I think having 33 year olds in midfield is hugely problematic and seems to require either the balance of the team to be changed to accommodate them, or their team-mates to adjust their games.

 

[Kag]

I cant see LVG dropping Blind - he's done very well in each game he's played. As for Carrick, i dont necessarily disagree about him not being suited to centre back, however, i dont think our manager will see it that way. I could be wrong.

Yeah, I really like Blind. But I do think Carrick on top form is a better player, and I still think it's possible he can get back to his form prior to the arrival of Moyes. Flanked by the energy of Herrera and Di Maria, Carrick could be really great. Hopefully you are wrong, I don't think I can deal with too much of Carrick at centre half!

 

[LonelyFire]

Who knows what LVG will do ? If we were still using 3 central defenders then I would be more willing to believe that Carrick might feature in defence. Recently LVG's comments have suggested that his preference is for one right footed central defender and one left footed; in which case, Carrick would be competing with Jones, Smalling and Evans for one place. I'm struggling to see him winning that contest unless at least two of them are injured. Carrick's lack of pace is problematic if we intend to play a high line.

Personally I think having 33 year olds in midfield is hugely problematic and seems to require either the balance of the team to be changed to accommodate them, or their team-mates to adjust their games.

Personally, i dont want Smalling anywhere near our team. He has gone backwards at a very, very quick rate. As for Jones and Evans - neither are convincing.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Well I, for one, am genuinely excited about seeing Carrick partner up with one or more top class central midfielders.

Since Scholes hung up his boots the poor cnut has had to put up with a succession of "nearly but not quite" partners and had to shoulder far too much responsibility for keeping our midfield functional. Sharing the burden with smart, talented and hard-working players like Blind, Hererra and Di Marian could be exactly what he needs for an Indian summer in his career and exactly what United needs to get our central midfield back up to a level where we can compete for trophies again.

 

[Deleted member 78215]

Well I, for one, am genuinely excited about seeing Carrick partner up with one or more top class central midfielders.

Since Scholes hung up his boots the poor cnut has had to put up with a succession of "nearly but not quite" partners and had to shoulder far too much responsibility for keeping our midfield functional. Sharing the burden with smart, talented and hard-working players like Blind, Hererra and Di Marian could be exactly what he needs for an Indian summer in his career and exactly what United needs to get our central midfield back up to a level where we can compete for trophies again.

I echo these sentiments. I was looking back at Carrick's highlights during the 2012-13 season and he was genuinely phenomenal, and that was playing in a much, much weaker team.

I think, once he's back, he's going to have a genuine Alonso/Pirlo effect (not that he's as good as them etc. etc.).

 

[jeff_goldblum]

Bizarre that he's coming back after missing basically the whole of LVG's reign and I'm very interested to see how he fits in. Obviously he's comfortable in both CM and a little deeper but he doesn't suit the roles LVG has made for Herrera and ADM in our system. The only place I can see him fitting in is in Blind's place, unless we shift Di Maria out wide and play 2 deeper midfielders in a 4-2-3-1-ish thing.

Anyway it'll be great having him back however we use him, I'm sure he has far more to offer than he showed last year.

 

[acnumber9]

Van Gaal seems like a fan of Carrick and I think he'll have a bigger part to play in our season than some think. It'll be great I have him back.

 

[moses]

It is a little odd that you've decided to quote me from like ten days ago...

Why? Do your opinions have some sort of built in obsolescence ?

 

[LR7]

http://www.manutd.com/en/News-And-F...uld-feature-in-under-21s-on-friday-night.aspx

 

[moses]

Van Gaal seems like a fan of Carrick and I think he'll have a bigger part to play in our season than some think. It'll be great I have him back.

I think most foreign managers would be a fan. We have a few footballing blind spots on these islands

 

[Deleted member 78215]

That Carrick in this team. Yes please.

 

[Trizy]

That Carrick in this team. Yes please.

Carricks long passing accuracy is no doubt impressive but I don't understand while he has to drive it knee or waist height, no matter what player is at the end of it, its almost impossible to control it and keep possession while being man marked. Driving it to feet would be much more ideal.

Excited about his return, wanna see him in the Blind role.

 

[acnumber9]

I think most foreign managers would be a fan. We have a few footballing blind spots on these islands

Very true. It'll be interesting to see how he fits him in because I'd be surprised if he's not a regular and Van Gaal doesn't seem a big one for rotation.

 

[Devil may care]

Hopefully we play well against West Brom and get a good lead so he can get the last 20 minutes under his belt.

 

[Rossa]

Looking at that video above, isn't it a bit of a falsified myth that Carrick is slow? He often uses pace to catch seemingly faster players over distance. It's not an attribute associated with him because it looks so effortless, but his ability to read the game and make those long strides of his back into defense are vital for our success. His technique is also world class. If anything, he can appear a little too casual and relaxed at times, which can cause him to lose the ball or make silly misplaced passes. Overall though, he's one of those players that it took some time to realize how good he really is and how important he is to the team!

 

[ivaldo]

Why? Do your opinions have some sort of built in obsolescence ?

Really? Hardly the receipe for a cohesive conversation is it? I had to check back earlier in the thread to even know why I said what I did. You're quite right my opinion won't change within the space of 10 days, so if its pointless to converse with someone holding my opinion why the feck would you quote me in the first place?

 

[buckooo1978]

An experienced, composed midfield player with excellent passing ability

Of course LVG is a fan - think he and Herrera will be a great combination

 

[Still ill]

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Decent Ogden article. I'm really looking forward to see how LVG uses Carrick. Instead of Blind or alongside?

Alongside. Chelsea, City, Arsenal coming up. We need a more solid base to the midfield against quality opposition, don't we? Carrick and Blind with Herrera in front is an exciting prospect. The idea of a United central midfield in a position to control and dictate games, well, I can scarcely contain myself.